Many common food products, medicines, medicaments and other consumable substances are frequently stored in bulk quantities using relatively small, easily portable storage containers such as bottles, jars and canisters by individuals, retailers, and health care facilities for later dispensation, administration and/or use. Substances commonly stored in bulk are usually particulate, powdery, and/or granular substances such as medicines, medicaments, thickeners, baby formula, protein powders, coffee, sweeteners and other dry goods, but may also comprise viscous liquid substances such as cough syrups, honey, baby foods or fluid gels.
The accurate measuring and dispensation of a specific amount of a substance stored in bulk typically necessitates the use of at least four separate items, including (1) a storage container containing a substance to be measured and dispensed, (2) a closure for sealing the storage container and protecting the contents thereof from contamination and accidental spillage, (3) a measuring device (e.g., a measuring spoon or beaker) for measuring out a specific amount of the substance, and (4) a receiving container (e.g., a cup or bottle) for administering the measured amount of the substance dispensed. The need for so many separate items can make the measuring and dispensing of specific amounts of bulk substances both difficult and time consuming because it requires a user to hold and/or manipulate multiple articles, either sequentially (by placing each item on a working surface when not in use, which is slower) or simultaneously (which while faster, is awkward and increases the risk of spilling the substance).
A fifth article for facilitating the transfer of the bulk substance from the storage container to the receiving container (e.g., a funnel) is also commonly used in applications where the opening (i.e., “mouth”) of the receiving container is particularly narrow or small compared to the measuring device or the opening of the storage container. However, the use of additional articles or tools to facilitate dispensation and administration increases the number of steps, risk of error and time required to achieve successful dispensation and administration of a measured amount of a substance, which can be problematic in situations where ease, consistency and speed of delivery are important.
These problems and risks can be further exacerbated by the use of traditional, reusable, open-top measuring devices, including measuring spoons, cups and beakers, because such devices are inaccurate, unreliable and susceptible to user error, which makes them inconsistent and prone to spilling. Such measuring devices also render the measured portion of the substance being dispensed, as well as the bulk portion remaining in the storage container, vulnerable to contamination by moisture, foreign substances, spoilage organisms and pathogens, which is especially problematic in the healthcare industry where accuracy and consistency of measurement, purity of substance, and avoidance of nosocomial infection is vital. In sum, traditional devices and methods for dispensing measured amounts of bulk substances are cumbersome, imprecise, inconsistent and subject the substance being dispensed to the needless risk of contamination and spoilage.
Various solutions to these problems have been proposed and found unsatisfactory. For example, omitting the use of a measuring device by simply pouring a bulk substance directly from a storage container into a receiving container (with or without the aid of a facilitating device such as a funnel) does not solve the foregoing deficiencies because this method prevents measurement and control of the amount being dispensed, and still exposes the substance to air, moisture, and other contaminants.
Additionally, some newer types of storage container closures having dual functions are known. For example, the caps provided with containers of some ingestible consumer products (e.g., cough syrup, mouth wash) serve both to seal the container when attached and as a dosing device when removed. These dosing caps allow the user to measure out and administer a predetermined volume of product into the cap when the cap is removed from the bottle. However, dosing caps are common fomites and must be cleaned prior to replacement of the cap on the storage container in order to prevent the transmission of germs spread to the cap by the user. Otherwise, any residual product inside the cap can migrate downward onto the exterior of the container, resulting in unwanted mess. Examples of dosing caps may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,126 to Bucherer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,249 to Grosse, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,331 to Jacobs et al.
Another newer type of closure facilitates the measurement and dispensation of a substance from a storage container without removing the cap. Some examples of these types of dispenser caps may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,995 to Hightower et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,519 to Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,343 to Mask, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,219 to Robbins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,302 to Fisscher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,426 to Robins, III et al., and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2001/0030165 A1 to Jacobs et al. One problem common to these types of dispenser caps is that they generally permit the manifestation of a direct, unobstructed channel or path between the interior of the storage container to which the cap is attached and the external environment at some point during their operation. This makes such caps prone to accidental spillage and contamination of the contents of the storage container by various external sources.
Although storage container and closure designers and manufacturers have developed many different variations of dosing caps and dispenser caps, there remains a need and a demand for a convenient, inexpensive, and easy to use spill- and contamination-resistant dispenser and measuring cap closure that can seal and protect the contents of a container from contamination by moisture, foreign substances and microorganisms during storage and use, and accurately, precisely and consistently measure and dispense a specific amount of a bulk substance from a container to which it is attached in one or more predetermined volumes corresponding to commonly prescribed amounts for a given substance.
The dispenser and measuring cap device disclosed herein satisfies this need through the provision of a single unitary closure for controlled measuring and dispensing of a substance from a storage container. The features and details of the device are listed and discussed below.